Decoding Video Codecs

Whilst browsing the web earlier today I found this easy to read article, with definitions of the most popular video codecs.

Decoding The Codecs
A codec is a formula that removes data - redundant data, data you aren't likely to notice, data that can be derived from other data, and so on - so files can be transmitted more quickly. At the receiving end, a decoder reassembles the data into something coherent.

The Wired article goes into detail about various popular Codec formats including:

a2b (AT&T)
Emblaze (Geo Interactive)
GTS (Graham Technology Solutions)
JPEG (public domain) JPEG(Joint Photographic Experts Group)
Liquid Audio (Liquid Audio)
MP3 (Fraunhofer Institute, Thomson Multimedia)
MPEG-1 (Philips and others)
MPEG-2 (MPEG-LA Consortium)
QDesign Music (QDesign)
QuickTime 2.5 and 3.0 (Apple)
RealMedia 5.0 and G2 (RealNetworks)
Sorenson Video (SorensonVision)
Windows Media Technologies (Microsoft)

Read more over here!